2nd annual Saint John Seaglass Festival underway in Market Square

The second annual Saint John Seaglass Festival is underway in Saint John, N.B.

The two-day event features all things sea glass from artwork, jewelry making workshops, competitions, and tons of items for sale.

There are 50 vendors set up inside Market Square for the festivities, the youngest being brothers Tom and Rowan Palmer who are just seven and nine-years-old.

“When I was little I always went to my grandmother’s beach a lot and then I found my first piece of beach glass and I liked it a lot and was showing everyone,” older brother Tom recalls. “Then I found more and more and more and got into collecting, then one of my grandmothers told me we should make something out of it.”

Sea glass hunting picked up popularity during the pandemic when many had nothing else to do. Festival organizer Karla Rodriguez Moran is thrilled to see the beach combing pastime growing.

“For me it’s amazing that everyone does different things,” Rodriguez Moran notes. “You won’t see the same thing anywhere and I think that’s amazing.”

The growth in the sea glass community is evident with a pair of sea glass celebrities in town for the festivities. The first is Ky Davis, better known as “Captain Ky the Sea Glass Guy” or the “Bored Pirate”. The entrepreneur travels the world on his boat searching for the best unknown sea glass beaches on the planet.

“It’s definitely a lot harder to find sea glass beaches in Canada because your guys’ beaches are huge,” chuckles Davis. “You guys got your work cut out for you but it’s so beautiful and so fun here and everyone is so nice. It really is worth coming here to look for it.”

The other sea glass figure is Crystal Richard, better known to Maritimers as the East Coast Mermaid, who opened the festivities as a guest speaker.

“I couldn’t have dreamed 30 some years ago that I would be standing on a stage at a sea glass festival in my own province talking about all the things I love about sea glass and living in New Brunswick,” beams Richard. “We didn’t even have sea glass festivals in New Brunswick until a couple of years ago… none of us were crazy enough to dream it and now it’s happening and it’s amazing.”

“That’s a dream come true for me because I have been following them for years on social media,” says and excited Rodriguez Moran on have the Bored Pirate and East Coast Mermaid on hand for the event. “I never thought I could have both at the same time so it’s really amazing.”

Those within the sea glass community say the best part about it is the fact everyone is on the same team.

“Everybody is just so peaceful and happy and nice to each other, it’s one of those communities where everyone helps one another out,” says Davis. “Young kids, teenagers, old people, everybody likes it no matter what age you are. It’s one of those few things in life where everybody can share a hobby no matter what your background is or where you’re from.”

“There sea glass for all of us,” Richard says. “I love that the sea glass community is very welcoming and people are very excited to show people their sea glass, where to go, how to do it. In this day and age if picking up little pieces of polished tumbled glass can bring people joy that’s amazing.”

For two of the newer beach combers at the event, their advice is simple.

“Don’t work hard for it,” Palmer advises. “Just have fun trying to find it.”

Richard notes specifically in New Brunswick that residents can find a sea glass beach within one to two hours from anywhere in the province. She recommends doing some research before heading out to look, but says others sea glass hunters are more often than not willing to help out.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.